Mixed Blessings
by kitty-kat12
Summary: Max and Alec's lives are changed forever by the things that they do and the consequences of those actions along with the ppl and circumstances that stand in their way...ma...sequel is up ppl!
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: DA doesn't belong to me.you know the drill  
  
A/N: This is my first fic ever so be nice but I appreciate critism.  
  
"Don't touch me." Max whispered hoarsely facing the wall.  
  
"Max-" Alec tried to say something.  
  
"Don't. Just. Don't." She said tensely. She didn't want to look at him and see the hurt in his face.  
  
"Okay." He said dejectedly. "I'll talk to you when you're ready." He sighed. "I need to be alone." She told him. Max wanted Alec to say something. An ok or bye but he just grabbed his jacket and walked out without another word.  
  
Max slumped down on the ground the minute she was sure Alec was gone and out of earshot. She took a deep breath but the sob that she had been suppressing escaped her throat and she couldn't stop it the minute it was out.  
  
OC found her that way. Sitting in the corner with her knees to her chest and her head down, sobbing.  
  
"What's the matter, boo?" OC asked wrapping one arm around her shaking best friend. "I hurt him." Max whispered. She sniffled and looked up at Cindy. "I slept with him and after I couldn't look at him."  
  
"Your boy will be fine." OC reassured her. She gave Max a weak smile.  
  
"I don't think he'll forgive me for this." Max said weakly.  
  
"He's Alec. He's strong." OC whispered. "And you and your boy are friends. Good friends. You should talk to him. Get things out in the open."  
  
Max sighed and wrung her fingers nervously. "He tried to talk to me but I pushed him away. Now he thinks I'm disgusted with him and that I hate him." She whimpered.  
  
"Do you?" OC asked.  
  
Max looked startled. "Of course not. I mean, Alec gets on my nerves and can be such a jerk but I don't hate him."  
  
OC nodded. "Tell him that. Tomorrow. Tonight, you get some rest. Everything will be fine." OC said helping her up and walking Max to her room.  
  
"Night OC. Max whispered as her friend tucked her in.  
  
"Night, Boo." OC smiled and walked to her room. She hoped she was right. That everything would work out fine. She knew that she didn't want the two most important people in her life hurt like this. By each other. 


	2. chapter two

DISCLAIMER: YOU KNOW THE DRILL PPL..I DON'T OWN DA..IM JUST A GREAT FAN LIKE TONS OF YOU PUT THERE  
  
A/N: HERE'S CHAPTER TWO. I HAVE THIS WHOLE STORY PLANNED ALREADY BUT IM WILLING TO LISTEN TO SUGGESTIONS AND MAKE SOME CHANGES ALONG THE WAY...  
  
Max walked over to Alec's locker where he was unpacking his bag. "Hey." She said.  
  
"Hey." He said without looking up. Alec was pretending to look for something in his bag. His body was tense the minute he realized she was in the room.  
  
"Can we talk?" She asked.  
  
Alec looked up and faced her. God, she was beautiful. "Actually, I gotta do my run." He answered.  
  
"Which sector?" Max asked.  
  
"Six and seven." Alec answered walking over to where Normal handed out the packages.  
  
"I got sector six so I'll talk to you while we go there." She offered.  
  
Alec said nothing and just grabbed the packages and shoved them into his back pack.  
  
"Bip! Bip! Bip!" Normal's usual annoying tone rang out. "Don't just stand around here people. I didn't hire you to be here and make my life miserable by making my business a failure!" He yelled out. Someone mumbled that it already was but Normal just shot at glare at the closest people who happened to be Max.  
  
Max rolled her eyes at Normal and followed Alec. This sure was going to be tough.  
  
"So how's Logan?" Alec asked as if he gave a damn about the guy who he honestly thought was making Max's life miserable. The question felt like a slap on the face for Max. She hadn't thought about Logan. She betrayed him too.  
  
"He's okay, I guess." She replied, not sure what to say.  
  
"Good." Alec said.  
  
Max sighed as they rode their bikes. "Alec, can we please stop this?" She asked. She could only take so much and patience was not a known trait to any X5.  
  
"Stop what?" He asked innocently.  
  
"Great, he's playing games." Max thought to herself. The smug look on Alec's face with his cocky grin made her forget what she wanted to say and for a second there Max wanted to slap him and make him suffer just for looking gorgeous. "Just stop playing games, Alec." She said.  
  
"Games! I'm not playing any games. I can't say the same for you though." He said icily.  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Max demanded angrily, stopping her bike in the middle of the crowd.  
  
"You know damn well what it means." Alec glared at her.  
  
"Actually, I don't. I don't understand why you're so angry with me and why you've avoided me for a whole week now." She declared. Alec was really starting to irritate her. Here she was trying to make peace with him and all he was doing was making it worse.  
  
"Well, you can't just sleep with me for your convenience and tell me the next day to leave you alone." He hissed bitterly. "You can't just mess with my head like that. God, what do I look like to you? Don't you dare stand there and look at me like you did nothing wrong; like this is supposed to be my fault because I'm 'smart-ass-Alec-who doesn't-care-who-he- hurts'. This time it's your fault and you can't admit it!" He was so angry that he was yelling already, drawing people's attention towards them. He knew he was going off on her and he shouldn't but he was so hurt that he just wanted her to feel his pain.  
  
"In you're mind, you're always right Max. It's alright that you use me for just cheap sex and leave it at that. You act like it means nothing. It doesn't work like that." H said growing quiet.  
  
"It wasn't nothing. It meant something." Max whispered looking down at her hands. She couldn't look at him and show him that she was on the verge of tears. She was tough as hell and she wasn't going let him see that like the rest of the she too has her weaknesses. "You mean something."  
  
Alec looked genuinely surprised. Thank god he meant something to her. She was affecting him more than he was willing to acknowledge. Like sleeping with her. Sure she was great but if it was just another girl, he wouldn't have cared. But this was Max and somehow all rules don't apply. "And what exactly do I mean to you?" He asked softly.  
  
"I don't know. Logan hes-" She looked up and stopped herself when she saw the look on Alec's face. He looked like she just ran a stake through his heart. Like she had mentioned Rachel to him.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot about mister-save-the-helpless." He said sarcastically. "I forgot that he was the center of your world; forgot that everything and everyone else is second to Logan the Great." He was glaring at her now. "No one matters when it comes to Logan."  
  
"Alec, he has nothing to do with this." She said trying to control her temper.  
  
"You honestly don't know." He was saddened by that. Alec wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.  
  
"That's why I'm so angry with you Max. You called me Logan when we slept together and when you couldn't keep pretending that it was him, you just never spoke." He wanted to yell at her again and let her know what she did wrong.  
  
She loved Logan. Plain and simple and that hurt him. She meant a lot to Alec but Logan would always come first. No one would measure up to Logan.  
  
"Yes he does." He insisted. "You couldn't touch him so I became the replacement. Each time you touched me, you were dreaming of Logan."  
  
Alec looked so hurt that Max wanted to step forward and hug him just to ease the pain even for a fraction of a second. Instead she glared back him and stood her ground. "I never did that." She said defending herself.  
  
"You know what forget it. You're never going to admit that you're wrong." He said sounding like the whole conversation just took up all his energy and he didn't have the strength to go on with it anymore. "I'm not. I don't want to be part of your games anymore. I hope you and Logan are happy together." His voice was filled with sincerity and a lot of hurt despite his efforts of trying not to show any emotion other than angry and resentment of what she did. With that said Alec turned his back from the girl he loved and walked away.  
  
Max watched him go. She felt like she couldn't breathe. "That's the problem. I don't want to be with Logan." She whispered but Alec was too far away to hear her even with their genetically enhancedhearing. 


	3. chapter three

A/N: I DON'T REALLY LIKE THIS CHAPTER BUT IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY SUGESTIONS ON HOW TO GO ON WITH THE NEXT ONE FEEL FREE TO SAY SO. DON'T "IM" ME THOUGH.  
  
Max wanted to blame Manticore for all her u happiness but this time it was her fault. Alec was right. She did use him. More than once. First to get Logan to back off because of that virus that could kill him. Second, to make the loneliness go away. Why she kept coming back after that, she didn't know.  
  
Maybe it was the feeling of safety and security that Alec gave her. The world felt alright when she was with him. She cared about him despite what he may think. He was Alec, her obnoxious self-centered, egotistical soldier boy with the habit of surprising her with his random acts of kindness.  
  
As soon as she gets backs to Seattle she would tell him about the news. Whether it was good or bad was up to Alec to decide. She had told OC that she'd be gone for a week, maybe two. Maybe she was going to see Jace and her baby down in Mexico or track Zane down and get reacquainted with her brother.  
  
Max smiled at the thought of seeing her siblings again. God, she missed them. They've been through so much together. She hoped they were safe and happy. They deserved that at least. A little piece of happiness. Whoever she found she was going to tell them that she was going to have a baby. A nice healthy, happy baby free from Manticore and the life they've all had as a child.  
  
Max's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of dread and terror that crept over her. She was being tailed. She turned her head to see who it was. Two army trucks were right behind her.  
  
"Shit! Shit!" She said. She assumed it was White or Manticore soldiers. She saw sector police up ahead but when she enhanced her vision she saw two more trucks waiting, parked right in her way.  
  
Max thought of every escape tactic she could use. Escape and evade. That was what she was good at. She saw the woods and turned her bike towards that direction. She'd have to ditch her ninja somewhere. Max decided she'd go back for it later. She started on foot this time, running as fast as she could. She could hear soldiers behind her. They were keeping up.  
  
As fast as she was, the new X's were right behind her. Soon, she was surrounded. She fought as hard as she could but there were too many and her body was growing tired. The baby. That was her priority. She wouldn't go back. When she and her siblings escaped, they had sworn that they would rather die than go back to Manticore and relive the horror. This baby was one more reason not to go back there.  
  
Suddenly a jolt of electricity shot through her back and Max's body convulsed. She fell on her knees. "No," She moaned trying to get back up. Another jolt shot through her and this time she fell, her eyes blinking back the tears before everything went black. 


	4. chapter four

DISCLAIMER: SAME AS BEFORE. I DON'T OWN DA.  
  
A/N: THIS CHAPTER IS A CINDY/ALEC FRIENDSHIP. JUST THOUGHT THEY DESERVED TO HAVE A MOMENT TO TALK. MORE REVIEWS PPL. I WANT SOME INPUT.  
  
"Alec, dammit! I know you're in there!" OC's voice woke Alec up from his sleep and he groaned as he got up lazily and walked over to the door.  
  
"What the hell do you want?" He asked rather annoyed. "It's five in the morning. Don't you know that normal people sleep at this time and normal people surely don't go around banging on doors just to make others miserable?" He demanded but OC just let herself in and started pacing nervously.  
  
"Max isn't home." She blurted nervously, still pacing.  
  
"Can you stop pacing? You're making me nervous." He said still sleepy.  
  
OC stopped. She sighed heavily and sat down on the nearest stool.  
  
"She'll be home. She told you where she was going." He reassured her.  
  
"She was supposed to call me. She never did. Not once. Alec, I'm worried. She was supposed to be back a week ago. I tried calling her cell phone. At first no one answered and then later when I tried again, it was shut off." OC looked at him worriedly, wringing her hands.  
  
Alec shifted his weight form one leg to another and ran his hand through his hair revealing to OC how worried he was too. "Call her again." He finally said.  
  
"Nothing." OC said with frustration. She walked over to Alec who was now sitting by the counter drinking his second cup of coffee. They've been calling for two hours and Alec was starting to get agitated.  
  
She sat down beside him on a stole and stared at her coffee which was still relatively warm. "She missed you, ya know." OC said softly.  
  
Alec said nothing. He continued to drink his coffee.  
  
"Are you okay, hon?" OC asked changing the subject.  
  
"Hon? When did that happen?" He asked rather surprised and amused.  
  
"Always." She said which produced as smile on Alec's face.  
  
"What? You're batting for the other team now?" He asked.  
  
"Nah. I'm sworn to the sisterhood forever but you still look good." She chuckled.  
  
"I never doubted that." Alec laughed.  
  
Silence grew between them.  
  
"Did she hate me?" Alec asked, rather surprised that he had asked.  
  
"Never. You got to her but she never hated you. Not for a fraction of a second." OC answered firmly. "You're good for each other. You always look out for each other and neither of you noticed that."  
  
"I noticed." He sighed.  
  
"Everything will be sorted out when Max comes back. I promise." She said rubbing his back softly.  
  
"I hope so." He said with a wry smile. For now he'll just have to settle for the fact that she didn't hate him. Everything would follow later. 


	5. chapter five

Max opened her eyes lazily. Everything was fuzzy. She moved her hand to touch her aching head but found that she couldn't because she was restrained to the bed.  
  
"Great." She mumbled. She was so sleepy.  
  
"Calm down." A familiar voice interrupted her. Max tried to focus at the figure standing by the door.  
  
"Brin." Her voice was raspy. "How long was I here?" Max asked.  
  
"A week. You've been sleeping most of the time because of the drugs." Brin explained.  
  
"Drugs?" Max looked horrified.  
  
"For the baby. To make it healthier." Her sister smiled but to Max she seemed like an automaton.  
  
"Brin. I need to get-" She said trying to move but Brin cut her off.  
  
"Shh. Another time." Brin said calmly.  
  
Max wanted to stay awake and think of something to help her get out of here. But she was too tired and her body demanded sleep. "Welcome home, soldier." Those where the last words she heard before she drifted into sleep.  
  
Max turned around her, searching for a spot that she might have a chance to escape through.  
  
"There's no way out of here 452." Renfro's harsh icy voice interrupted her. Although Max was physically superior to her, the woman always made her fell uneasy.  
  
She glared at her. "I will get out of here." She vowed. She wanted to strangle the woman's next and make her suffer.  
  
Renfro scoffed. "You get out of here, I will make sure that you get out without your baby. Is that what you want 452?" She said. "You try any escape and you get caught, your baby won't live another day." Renfro smiled when she saw the look in Max's face.  
  
Max knew there was no way in hell Renfro would allow any harm on the baby. It was too important. But she wasn't going to just stand by while they experimented on her child like a guinea pig. She had to get out of here. 


	6. chapter six

A/N: OK PPL, I WANT SUGGESTIONS. ORIGINALLY THIS FIC IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE AN ALMOST TWO YEAR SKIP IN THE STORY LINE BUT THAT'S MESSED UP. I NEED YOUR HELP HERE OR ELSE THERE'LL BE A GIGANTIC WRITER'S BLOCK AND I WONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. THANKS TO THE PPL THAT SUGGESTED STUFF AND IDEAS.  
  
Max opened her eyes. She knew where she was. She had already established that a long time ago. But nothing made sense anyway. She had brought down Manticore; let all of the transgenics escape. Renfro was supposed to be dead. White was the one after her. She tried to process the information in her mind like Lydecker had taught them many years ago. It's a puzzle, he had told them. She was supposed to put them together. Nothing added up.  
  
She got up from her bunk and sat down, leaning her back against the cold white wall. She couldn't bring her legs up because her jutting stomach was making it rather difficult. She put her hand over it and sighed. This was not how she pictured being pregnant. Max wondered how far along she was. Everything was still hazy. She missed lots of days. Brin kept telling her it was the drugs. It put her to sleep but kept the baby healthy. Max guessed she was at least seven months pregnant.  
  
"We'll be alright." Max whispered looking down at her stomach. Her words reminded her of Alec. He was always alright. He had told her. Max's mind drifted back to him, to their friends. "You better be looking for me Alec or I'll kick your pretty little ass when I get out of this hell hole." She mumbled and when she realized what she had said Max chuckled a little. She wondered if he was worried about her or if he even noticed that she was gone. In her mind, Max begged that he cared. She had hurt him but she wanted him to care. He was Alec and whether she admitted it or not, he was family. And he was closest to her ever since Manticore went down despite their differences.  
  
"I hurt him a lot you know." Max whispered. "I hurt your daddy a lot. But I promise you baby, he loves you." She continued. It was incredibly uncharacteristic of her to talk to her stomach. If Renfro knew this she'd be sent straight to Psy-Obs. Max was going to be reckless and take her chances. "I'm going to make it up to him." She smiled wryly. "You're going to be one hell of a looker." Max thought proudly. Manticore sure knew how to make them pretty. With Alec's good looks and her perfect DNA this kid was going to be beautiful. Her and Alec's baby was going to be beautiful. Max was so proud. Despite where she was now she was proud of this kid. She would hold on to that.  
  
Her door opened and Brin walked in, with her shiny black hair tied in her trademark ponytail, swinging right behind her. "Hey." Max said softly. Brin gave her sister a tight smile and sat down next to her on the bed. "The baby is fine." Max said. Brin was here for a progress report.  
  
This has been their routine ever since Max's body slowly adapted to the drugs for the baby and she was able to stay awake at certain times while on the medication. Brin would come in and talk to her. Max knew that this was Renfro's doing. Brin was sent as a spy to retrieve information about the other 09 escapees and their location. She wasn't here on a sisterly visit. This was a tactic. Renfro couldn't take Max to Psy-Obs just yet because it might do damage to the baby. They were really careful.  
  
Max didn't care though. Having Brin around was better than talking to no one and almost going insane. Max wasn't going to tell them anything. She would talk to Brin but Max wasn't going to mention anything that would compromise the people she cared about. The truth was that she didn't really know a lot. She knew where Zack and Jace were. Alec was in Seattle. Case was in Canada with Charlie. The locations of the rest of them were all suspicions. Zack didn't really trust her to tell her anything.  
  
By talking to Brin, Max has come to find out that she was held in a second Manticore facility. Where this was, she didn't know. They were somewhere in the forest because all Max can see outside her window are trees. "I thought I brought Manticore down for good." She whispered to Brin sadly.  
  
"Manticore is strong. It can never be taken down." Brin explained in her usual quiet voice.  
  
That was what Max was afraid of. If they had another facility, then there would be more. "So, what do the doctors say about my baby?" Max asked standing up.  
  
"It's a healthy baby. It'll make a perfect soldier." Brin smiled.  
  
Max cringed at the thought. She didn't like it. She didn't want her child to be a soldier. "Why is it so important?" Max asked.  
  
"Because its parents are both X5s." Brin replied.  
  
"I never told you that the father of this baby was an X5." Max insisted.  
  
"We already know. The genetic make up of the baby shows no 'normal' human DNA." Brin replied. "It's perfect."  
  
"Perfect?" Max echoed curiously. She was dreading what Brin had to tell her.  
  
"Unlike X5-656's son." Brin answered.  
  
Max sighed. "Tinga's boy." Max whispered. She remembered. Case was sick. There was something wrong with his genetic make up. Something in human DNA wasn't compatible with an X5's.  
  
Brin stood up to leave. The visit was over. The door opened and Max was left to her thoughts again. This child was perfection. What Manticore had always wanted but never achieved. It was the most important one of all.  
  
Max looked around her frantically. She needed to get out of here. 


	7. chapter seven

A/N: I KNOW SOME OF YOU WILL HATE ME FOR THIS BUT I HAD TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE THE STORY WAS STARTING TO DRAG. THIS ISN'T HOW I ORIGINALLY WANTED TO STORY TO WORK BUT IT'S BETTER THIS TIME. I HOPE YOU PPL ARE HAPPY. I WOULD APPRECIATE SOME SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS. AND I KNOW THAT THIS IS SHORT AND YOU GUYS DON'T LIKE THAT BUT IT HAS TO BE THIS WAY.  
  
Max struggled with the restraints. "Let go of me!" She yelled. She was back in the hospital again. They were doing something to her.  
  
"Bad move 452." Renfro's voice rang from the doorway. Her heels clicked as she started to walk slowly over to Max. "Don't struggle or you'll hurt the baby more." Renfro ordered quietly.  
  
Max had tried to escape a few hours ago and she had been successful in getting out but Manticore soldiers had caught up with her a few miles away. She had to slow down once in a while just to make sure she wasn't doing any damage to the baby. Plus she couldn't run like she did before. Trying to escape on foot and being pregnant hadn't worked to her advantage.  
  
Max looked terrified. What did she mean by hurt it more? Was it hurt already? "Why couldn't you stay dead?" Max asked viciously.  
  
Renfro smirked at her comment. "Say good bye to your baby, 452." She said and doctors surrounded Max.  
  
At first Max didn't know what they were doing. Then she realized that they were inducing her. She was two months away from labor and they were forcing her to let the baby out. Soon, the medication started to work and Max was having contractions. They didn't give her any anesthetic for the pain. She could handle the pain. She was built for that but everything was fuzzy and she was getting tired.  
  
A few hours later she heard the baby crying and when she turned her head, she could see them taking him away. She had a son. "Let me touch him." She whispered. No one bothered to listen. They were taking him away from her. They weren't even going to let her hold him. "Let me touch him!" Max's voice rose. "Give me my baby!" She yelled but the doctors ignored her. She could see Brin watching from afar. Her sister looked genuinely sorry. "Please," Max begged. She had never in her life asked for anything but she was willing to say anything just to touch her son.  
  
Everything began to blur and Max started to drift off. The last image in her mind was her baby. They were going to pay for this. 


	8. chapter eight

A/N: I KNOW THAT THIS IS SHORT BUT I JUST WANTED IT TO GET TO THE POINT. ALEC AND THE REST OF THE GANG WILL BE BACK INTO THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTERS. I KNOW A LOT OF YOU PPL HATE ASHA BUT I ACTUALLY LIKE THE CHARACTER AND I THINK SHE DESERVES A CHANCE SO THERE'LL BE A MENTION OF HER. THANKS FOR READING.  
  
Max shot her eyes open. Everything looked green. Where the hell was she? There was water around her and just below her, she could see people looking up with their charts in their hands, taking notes, pressing buttons. There were tubes attached to her bodies. What the hell was going on? What were they doing to her?  
  
Max's find raced frantically. She couldn't move her arms. Everything hurt though. She was helpless. She tried to clam herself. Retrace her steps and figure out why she was here. Then suddenly an all too familiar image came to her. Tinga.  
  
They had done the same to Tinga. It was a similar lab. Her sister was in the same tank she was in. The only difference was that there was a mask to help maintain Max's oxygen level. They wanted to keep her alive.  
  
They were harvesting her. Testing how far they could push the limits. She was valuable to Manticore being a mother of its most perfect transgenic. Its only perfection.  
  
Max's mind drifted to her son. She wondered how long she's been here; how long it has been since her son was born. She couldn't remember anything. She had seen him for just a few minutes. She wasn't able to touch him but she had heard his cry and seen how beautiful he was. Her baby was beautiful and it hurt her to think that she might never see him grow up, that the image of him will have to remain a baby.  
  
Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by the fact that she was struggling to breathe. They had cut her air supply. They didn't mean to because she could see that the doctors were panicking, trying everything they could to stop the annoying alarm and put a flow of oxygen back into her lungs. Why the hell were they taking so long? She could only hold her breath for a few minutes.  
  
Max was struggling now. She needed air. Everything was starting to fog up. She was blacking out again. She hated those. Every time she blacked out, she would find herself someplace new when she wakes up and each time it was worse.  
  
God dammit, fix the damn thing! She wanted to yell at them but she could see that they were truly trying but unfortunately failing. Thank god they were trying because she wasn't ready to die just yet. If only they would hurry.  
  
Suddenly Max managed to move one arm and punch through the glass, breaking it in the process. It was like reflex and the doctors looked stunned beyond belief. The water started to leak out of the tank but Max couldn't wait for it to get low enough. She became unconscious. 


	9. chapter nine

A/N: I KNOW MANY OF YOU WON'T BE HAPPY WITH ASHA BEING IN THE PICTURE, ESPECIALLY AS LOGAN'S WIFE BUT I HAD TO GIVE THE MAN SOMEONE TO BE WITH. IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS THAT THIS IS A M/A FIC SO LOGAN DESERVES SOMEONE AND THAT'S ASHA. I SURE CAN'T PAIR HIM UP WITH OC. SHE'S BATTING FOR A DIFFERENT TEAM HERE. HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS. I PROMISE THERE'LL BE MORE.  
  
"Sources tell me that this man is the next target." Logan said as he busily typed, opening one window after another.  
  
Alec stood behind him, his face in a frown.  
  
"I need you to make sure he stays alive." Logan explained.  
  
"Play bodyguard. Got it." Alec said and Logan nodded. Things were different between them now. They weren't so tense with each other anymore. A sense of respect and loyalty had grown between the men and they can honestly say that they were friends now.  
  
"Anything I can do to help?" A female voice asked. It was Logan's wife Asha who was busy eating ice cream.  
  
Logan shook his head and Alec said no. "I'm going to stop by the house first and check up on OC and Joshua." Alec said as he headed out.  
  
"Tell them I said hi." Asha called after him.  
  
"I will." Alec said with a small smile.  
  
AT THE HOUSE  
  
"Alec, is that you?" OC's familiar voice called out form the kitchen. She must be cooking or something, Alec decided.  
  
"Yeah, it's me." He called back. "I'm going out to do a run for Logan. Do you need me to buy anything on the way back?" Alec asked.  
  
OC appeared by the doorway, Joshua right behind her. "Maybe some milk. It looks like we're going to be out of those soon." She answered. Joshua gave Alec a big hug which made him smile a little. Joshua then retreated, motioning that he had to finish painting.  
  
Alec nodded. OC sighed. She hated it when Alec went out on missions for Logan. It was just the same with Max. It made her worry. It made her worry even more knowing that Alec went on these missions on the sole purpose of finding Max. Alec never said anything but everyone knew it. Ever since Max left and never came back, Alec and Logan had formed their two man team, rescuing people, retrieving files, doing things to save the world. Logan was the brain and Alec was the muscle. But Max was the heart and that's what they were looking for.  
  
"You might not find her." OC whispered. Alec stopped in his tracks.  
  
He looked emotionless. It wasn't like him but then again things weren't like they were before anymore. Things changed and they did too.  
  
"I know." He replied. "I have to try." He said defensively. OC only looked at him. She understood. It saddened her to see him like this. He was always irritable and angry. It was like he hated the world because Max wasn't there anymore. Most of all, he hated himself.  
  
"Asha says hi." He added before he walked out. OC watched him go. She reassured herself that Alec would come back like he usually does. He had to come back. She and Joshua needed him. They were the only family she had left. OC wasn't about to lose one more.  
  
"Hey, Josh, do you want anything special for dinner?" OC asked as she walked back into the kitchen.  
  
"Lasagna! Please, OC, can Joshua have lasagna?" He begged, bouncing giddily into the kitchen with his favorite paintbrush in one hand.  
  
OC beamed. "Sure. I'll make lasagna." It was hard making lasagna but Josh liked it anyway. The stuff came expensive but OC was willing to give out a few of her cash to make Josh happy. He was like her little brother. When Max was gone, OC had moved out of their apartment into Josh's home hers and Max's things. There were three extra bedrooms aside from the one Josh slept in. Alec went over there most of the time, checking on them, making sure they were okay. When OC suggested fixing the place up, he even got the a few cans of paint and wallpaper. She was really grateful for him.  
  
But Alec never stuck around long enough. He didn't sleep there because OC knew that seeing them reminded him of Max. He kept his apartment and on a regular basis, he came by to help them out, do errands, and fix something that needed fixing. He had appointed himself their protector. It reminded her of Max's big brother Zack. He kept an eye on everyone. Now, Alec had taken the role.  
  
OC wouldn't have been surprised if Alec just left Seattle and made a life for himself someplace better. Instead he stuck around in this god forsaken city, took care of the people that needed him and made a name for himself. She wondered if the old obnoxious carefree Alec would ever come back because she sure hell missed that kind of attitude from him. OC missed a lot of things. Max especially.  
  
But then again, they all did. 


	10. chapter ten

A/N: I KNOW THAT THIS ONE IS KINDA SHORT BUT I WANT TO GET TO THE OTHER CHAPTERS AND EXPLAIN A COUPLE OF THINGS. ANYONE OUT THERE KNOW WHAT TWO X5'S OFFSPRING IS CALLED?  
  
Alec was alerted by the sound of struggling and then a gunshot.  
  
"Shit!" He said as he climbed down from the roof and jumped through a window. He had been keeping surveillance on the man and the perimeter for the last two hours from a distance. He hadn't seen anyone breach the perimeter or go near the target's location. Maybe he kept watch way too far, he thought.  
  
Alec found the man a little too late. He was lying in a pool of his own blood and the killer was escaping through the other window. Alec went right after the person. He recognized that it was female presumably X series. She didn't appear transhuman. The girl jumped off the window and landed six stories down perfectly on her feet thanks to its feline DNA. Alec did the same increasing his speed to catch up.  
  
When he got close enough he tackled her leaving both of them sprawled on the ground. The girl sprang up. There wasn't enough time for Alec to see her. She fought him viciously and she was moving faster than he anticipated. She was giving him a hard time. The girl was just as fast and strong as he was, maybe even better. She was using tactics he didn't really recognize.  
  
Suddenly, a ray of light from the nearby building caught the girl's face and Alec's whole body froze.  
  
"Max." He managed to whisper.  
  
452 couldn't believe it. Alec was standing in front of her. She had fought him. Instead of being happy, her defenses kicked in and she stood her ground like a good soldier. This wasn't happening. She didn't know whether to cry or laugh.  
  
"Max?" His voice interrupted her train of though and Alec stepped forward. Max instinctively backed off. She didn't know what to do. This wasn't part of the mission.  
  
Max saw the anger and pain flicker in Alec's eyes when she backed away. He was begging her for an explanation. She wanted so badly to give it to him but she didn't know what to do. She was tempted to say something. But what if Renfro was listening? What if they heard her betray them? She couldn't take that chance. Max would never be forgiven. She'd be punished more and she would never know where her son is.  
  
Max did the one thing she knew how to do. She ran. She ran from Alec as fast a she could. If she got rid of him then, she'd reach base and they'd take her back to Manticore. She would have more time to find out where her son was. Max tried every tactic in the book to lose Alec but he was fast and he was determined as hell to keep her there. He finally caught up with her and he pinned her down on the ground, restraining her arms and legs.  
  
"I'll let you go if you promise not to run." He said trying to catch his breath. Max nodded. She pushed him off of her.  
  
Max didn't say anything. Alec was right in front of her looking bewildered and royally pissed.  
  
"Max," He repeated her name, urging for a response. He was urging her to speak but if she spoke, a rush of emotions would escape her and she wasn't going to allow that. Today and forever she would be a soldier and she will be unless she has her son back.  
  
She stepped forward to fight him. Alec made no move to counter her attack. "Fine," She thought to herself. She took a good look at Alec and punched him sending him on the ground. She had punched him harder than she anticipated.  
  
"This is X5 452 reporting." She said through the radio  
  
"What is the status soldier?" A voice from the other line asked.  
  
"The target has been terminated. The threat no longer exists, sir. Mission accomplished." She replied in monotone.  
  
"Return to base immediately." The voice ordered.  
  
"Yes, sir. 452 out." She said. Max ended transmission and looked down at Alec who looked completely horrified.  
  
Max whirled around and walked away from him. Pain flickered in her eyes but she was quick enough for him not to see it.  
  
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" He asked furiously, standing up instantly. He caught up with her.  
  
"I am returning to base. I suggest you do the same and if not, do not follow me." She said flatly. She couldn't look at him.  
  
Stand ground soldier! Emotion is the enemy! She remembered Lydecker's words. She needed them to be strong. He wasn't the most comforting person and role model to look up to but the circumstances were different now and he had taught her a lot. What he had taught them a long time ago was vital to her now because of her son.  
  
"Max, dammit! What the hell is wrong with you?" This was what Alec was afraid of. All his suspicions had been right. She had been captured. She had been re-indoctrinated.  
  
"My designation is 452." She said firmly looking straight into his eyes. She prayed that her eyes wouldn't show any trace of emotion and betray her.  
  
For the first time in her life, she saw Alec look completely and genuinely terrified. Alec wanted to hold her and hug her but he also wanted to slap some sense into her. This was Max, the girl who kicked everyone's ass especially his. How could it be like this?  
  
Max shook her head softly taking a step back from him. "My loyalties are to Manticore." She declared. Max almost believed it herself. She would always be loyal to them because they had the upper hand. They had her son. If she betrayed them she would never be able to see him and hold him and give him the love that he so deserved. This was the leash that Renfro is using to keep her coming back to Manticore. She was willing to hurt anyone, even Alec just to get him back.  
  
She owed her son that much. 


	11. chapter eleven

N/A: HERE'S CHAPTER ELEVEN. HOPE YOU PPL LIKE THIS ONE. I WON'T SHOW MAX'S POV IN THIS ONE. WE NEED TO HEAR ALEC'S AND LOGAN'S SIDE OF THE STORY AND THEIR REACTIONS. ANYWAY, I HOPE NONE OF YOU HATE ME FOR THE WHOLE ASHA/LOGAN THING.  
  
Alec rubbed his forehead angrily. He had one hell of a headache and he was pissed and confused. He blew up his mission and then Max turns up there, back to being a good old soldier and completely loyal to Manticore.  
  
"My loyalties are to Manticore." Her last words made him shiver. They had messed with her mind. He concluded. They sent her to Psy-Obs and re- indoctrinated her.  
  
Alec had never doubted that Manticore had back up facilities in case one of them was taken down. He just never realized that Max would be taken back and kept there permanently. Alec closed her eyes and remembered what she looked like. She looked beautiful as always. Kind of thin but beautiful anyways. Her hair had grown longer since he last saw her. It was tied into a tight ponytail. Alec brushed the picture from his mind. What Max looked like wasn't important right now.  
  
He had to figure things out. Max had every chance to escape Manticore. Why didn't she take it? Something was keeping her back there, something important. Alec sighed heavily.  
  
Logan was going to be pissed that the guy died but Alec real didn't give a damn about that. He found Max. That was good news. It would have been greater news if she wasn't in the state she was now. It would have been a blessing if she came back home. Logan was going to be even more pissed that he didn't tail her. It was stupid of him. It might be the only chance he'll ever get to find a way to Max, to get her back.  
  
What the hell was he going to tell them? Logan was going to want an explanation and he would want the truth. He owed them the truth but he didn't want to get their hopes up, OC's and Joshua's especially. But it would also be a relief knowing that she was alive and well despite the fact that she wasn't the same anymore.  
  
Hell, he was relieved. He was so damn happy to know that Max was alive. He was also furious. He was angry at Max for getting caught, for being reckless. And most of all, he was angry at himself for not knowing, not finding a way to find the facility and get Max back. He should have known better. She should have thought it all, remembered that there were facilities everywhere, that Max was never going to be out of danger. Manticore would always be after her. This was his fault. Ultimately that's what it all came down to.  
  
Alec sighed heavily as he walked into Logan's apartment. The man was still by his computer. Alec assumed Asha was already asleep. "You didn't call. I was worried. How did it go?" Logan asked looking up at Alec.  
  
"Not good." Alec mumbled. "Not good, Logan." He said looking up, his hands in his pockets.  
  
"What do you mean?" Logan asked, fixing his glasses to adjust his vision.  
  
"I couldn't save him." Alec answered. He was getting really irritated by the fact that he failed through and through.  
  
"What the hell happened?" Logan asked. He needed that guy to stay alive. He had important information.  
  
"Max was there." Alec replied. Logan looked completely stunned. At first he thought he heard him wrong.  
  
"What?" He managed to say in a small whisper.  
  
"Max was there. She killed him before I got to them." Alec sighed heavily, running his hand through his blonde hair.  
  
"She killed him?" Logan couldn't believe it. It didn't make sense. "Where is she now? Why isn't she back with you?" He asked. His mind was jumbled with a thousand thoughts.  
  
"She was recaptured. Now she's back to the old her. A soldier. I couldn't get through to her." Alec explained. "She fought me hard. She's back in training. Stronger. They changed her." He said sadly.  
  
Logan looked bewildered. He didn't know what to say.  
  
"She was on a solo mission, Logan. She killed him like it didn't matter. Execution style. I didn't see any remorse in her eyes." Alec continued. "god, we have to get her back." He said.  
  
"I know that. We have to get her back. That's what we've been trying to do this past two years. We've been looking and trying." Logan said sounding frustrated. "At least she's alive." He added after a long silence. They were both wrapped into their own thoughts.  
  
"We should keep this to ourselves and maybe Asha. OC and Josh can't know yet unless we're sure that we can get her back. It won't do them any good letting them keep their hopes up for nothing." Alec suggested.  
  
Logan nodded. He understood what Alec wanted. Asha would have to know. He wasn't going to keep any secrets from his wife especially now that she pregnant.  
  
"You should go home, get some rest. You deserve it." Logan suggested. Alec only sighed. He wouldn't be able to rest anyway. "We'll work on this tomorrow, start planning."  
  
"Ok," He complied. He wasn't going to go home.  
  
Instead he went to the Space Needle. He needed to think and get some courage for what would come along because he knew it was going to be big. Whatever it was, they'd all have to brace themselves. 


	12. chapter twelve

"What the hell is going?" OC demanded. "Why do you have leave?" She asked; her hands on her hips. She was confused as hell and Alec wasn't helping by being so cryptic about everything.  
  
"I just need to get out of here." He said running his hand through his hair which told her that something was up. "I'll be back in a month or two." He said.  
  
"Great, you're ditching us," OC thought. She shifted her weight from one foot to another and leaned against wall. "I may not be a transgenic but if you're lying to me and getting yourself in trouble I will make it my life's mission to kick your ass so that you'll learn." She said warning him.  
  
Alec chuckled. She had a funny way of being serious. "I'll be back and I won't be in trouble. I promise. Take care of Joshua for me." He said. OC nodded and looked over at Joshua who had been watching and listening patiently.  
  
"You take care of OC okay." Alec said to Joshua who nodded eagerly.  
  
"Come back right away, Alec." He said. It made Alec a little sad knowing he couldn't tell them the truth.  
  
"I will big fella. I promise you, I will." He said and walked out of the house to his car. He drove off hoping that OC and Alec would be fine. Logan and Asha were going to keep an eye on them while he was gone.  
  
Alec's phone rang. "Yeah." He answered. He already knew who it was.  
  
"Good luck." Logan said from the other line.  
  
"Thanks, you too. I hope this works." Alec said.  
  
"It will. It has too. This is our last chance to get Max back." Logan replied. "I'll call you tomorrow and we'll see how things work out." He said.  
  
"Okay, bye." Alec answered. He shut his phone and slipped it into his pocket. Logan was right. This was their last chance. Their only chance. If it didn't work, Max would be gone from them for good. He wasn't about to let that happen.  
  
One and a half months later  
  
"I don't understand why you won't tell me anything. I mean, shouldn't Alec have called me first?" OC said to Logan over the phone. Logan had just called to tell her to expect company. Alec was coming back home. She was glad he was back. He had called her a couple times over the month to tell her that he was okay and to see if they were too. What she didn't understand was that why he hadn't called her himself to tell her. Something was definitely up.  
  
They've all been really secretive lately. Alec just had to leave and wouldn't explain. Logan was doing more work than usual if that was possible. Asha was really cautious and edgy every time OC mentioned Alec.  
  
"Just trust me." Logan said. "Alec will be back around noon today." He added.  
  
"Fine." OC sighed. "But when Alec gets here, you and him have a lot of explaining to do. I know you two are keeping secrets." She added.  
  
Logan chuckled uneasily. "We will explain to you." He reassured her and said good bye because he had to help Asha with something.  
  
Alec came home at noon as expected. OC and Joshua were in the other room. Josh was painting and OC was reading a book, trying not to get agitated. Alec brought company with him. He had four people right behind him when he walked in. OC recognized three of them. Zack, Syl and Krit. She had no idea who the bald guy was but she automatically assumed that he was one of Max's brothers.  
  
Whatever this was, it wasn't an X5 reunion. OC knew that for sure. 


	13. chapter thirteen

A/N: THIS ISN'T MY BEST CHAPTER. ACTUALLY, I DON'T LIKE IT AT ALL. I'M GLAD YOU PPL OUT THERE LIKE MY STORY SO FAR. AND THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS.  
  
Joshua hugged Alec enthusiastically the moment he saw him. "You're back!" Joshua said happily.  
  
Alec chuckled a little and patted Josh on the back. "Yes, buddy. I'm back." He sighed.  
  
OC looked at him and saw that he looked beat. "What's going on?" She asked. Alec glanced at her then at the other Xs in the room. Zack looked reluctant to share the reason why he and the others were here. Sly looked towards Alec and waited while the two other guys just remained quiet.  
  
"I'll explain later, OC." Alec answered running his hand through his hair. "You remember Zack, Syl, and Krit." He said. "This is Zane, Max's other brother." He added and OC shook Zane's strong hands. He looked completely all muscle but friendly. She liked him.  
  
"Guys, this is Joshua." Alec said. He wasn't about to leave Joshua out. He was after all part of the family. Joshua eagerly shook their hands and smiled. Alec was pleased that they accepted him.  
  
"I got to take a shower." Alec said and bolted to the bathroom. OC nodded knowing pretty well how Alec hated being untidy. Cleanliness was his necessity and shower was a luxury.  
  
Logan arrived a few minutes later looking edgy as hell. "You want to explain to me what's going on?" OC asked when he got into the house and said his hellos to Zack, Krit, Syl and Zane.  
  
"Actually, I'm going to wait for Alec." He answered and OC glared at him. She hated secrets. Secrets meant trouble. She was getting incredibly agitated. Everyone was evading questions.  
  
Alec popped out of the shower moments later looking fresh and clean. He knew there was no reason to stall. He started to explain.  
  
He began with seeing Max and realizing that she had changed. She had been recaptured and Alec had told Logan about it. Together, they decided it best not to tell anyone. Then they planned on rescuing her. Logan used his research to find the facility and Alec tracked down Max's siblings to help them out. When he was through, OC looked completely floored.  
  
"We weren't planning on finding Zack considering his condition." Alec said.  
  
"But I crashed my truck into his car and remembered everything." Zack continued. "I would have killed you if I found out that Max was in trouble and you didn't come to me." He looked at Alec dangerously. Alec put his hands up indicating he wasn't going to start anything. Logan cleared his throat knowing full well what that look meant. He was really cautious around Zack considering that the guy was programmed to kill him before.  
  
"Sorry, we didn't tell you." Alec said to OC and Joshua.  
  
OC sighed. "I understand why you did what you did." She said softly. "But you better bring Max back." She added.  
  
All of them looked lost in their own thoughts. They were thinking of their baby sister. They had no idea how she could have been recaptured. And why there was another Manticore facility and no one knew about it. Alec had explained to them the situation and on the way back to Seattle they had discussed every possibility on why and how she was recaptured. Nothing made sense anyway. Zack was still angry with the fact that it's been two years and this was their first rescue attempt. In his mind, it was irresponsible and kind of suspicious.  
  
They all settled in and after a few hours of talking and getting acquainted and making some minor plans, they all decided that it was best for Max's siblings to stay in the house. Syl was going to take one room and Zack and Zane would bunk together on the last one. Alec was going back to his apartment like usual. Tomorrow they would regroup and head over to Logan's and make up some plan.  
  
No one knew what to expect. They had their own presumptions but whatever they were supposed to face in this second Manticore facility, they knew that they better be prepared because it was going to be tough. 


	14. chapter fourteen

A/N: I KNOW THAT THIS CHAPTER ISN'T ANGSTY BUT I HAVE SOME PLANS FOR ASHA. I HOPE YOU GUYS DON'T KILL ME BECAUSE I WAS THINKING OF MAKING HER AN X5. YOU PROBABLY KNOW WHO IT'S GOING TO BE BUT IT'S JUST A THOUGHT. IT'D BE SOMETHING. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK BECAUSE IM LEAVING THIS TO THE PEOPLE TO DECIDE. AND I KNOW THAT THIS ISN'T LONG SO DON'T BUG ME ABOUT THAT ANYMORE.  
  
Alec walked into Logan's apartment with Syl, Zack, Zack, Zane and OC trailed behind him. They all looked grim but well rested.  
  
"In here." Logan said without looking up from his computer.  
  
"So what's the plan?" OC asked putting her hands on her hips. She raised an eyebrow when Alec looked at her. "I'm part of this too you know." She said firmly and Alec just gave up. Max was going to kill him if he got either OC or Joshua into the mess.  
  
Asha walked in and looked completely stunned to see everyone standing there. "Alec, you're back." She said cheerfully. Alec looked surprised.  
  
"Logan, you forgot to mention that she had the baby already." He said amused. Asha looked as small as she did without the baby.  
  
"Yes, we had a boy. We named him Alexander Cale." Asha said proudly. "He's sleeping right now. But I'll let you get back to what you're doing. Does anyone want breakfast?" She asked the others. No one answered and Asha decided to just do what she normally does and go back to the baby.  
  
They were there all day, planning and making strategies. She had to have a back up plan in case something unexpected occurred. Asha flitted from one room to the other, checking on the baby and half listening to them and serving them food and drinks once in a while. OC and Syl went to see the baby at different times and to talk to Asha who looked lonely but pleasant anyway.  
  
Zack thought she was nice, a little too cheery but nice anyway. Krit decided that he liked her and that she looked a little like Syl with the blonde hair and blue eyes. Zane was just fascinated with her cooking and ate and drank almost anything that she served them. This wasn't overlooked by Zack who didn't seem to approve but Asha was happy anyway.  
  
Logan was just proud as hell.  
  
They all left after Asha served them dinner. Tomorrow, they would execute the plan. Zane was incredibly eager to eat everything. They were still all tense and no one seemed to be in the mood for light conversation. Even Asha didn't seem too cheery. They were all thinking of tomorrow.  
  
Tomorrow there was going to be a war whether they liked to admit it or not.  
  
They all headed to Crash to loosen up. Zack didn't approve of this but went anyway. Alec didn't join them. He went to check on Joshua who had been left alone all day and then headed to the space needle to do some last minute thinking.  
  
"I won't fail you Max," He said quietly as he sat on the spot where Max had once sat almost a lifetime ago. 


	15. chapter fifteen

A/N: HERE IT IS PEOPLE. I HOPE THIS IS BETTER THAN THE ONE BEFORE. I DON'T WANT TO GO INTO DEATAILS ABOUT THE MISSION. YOU'LL ALL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT.  
  
Logan looked at the people around him. Alec was talking to Zack about last minute details. Krit and Syl were prepping their guns and ammunition and Zane was leaning against a tree, quiet as usual. OC and Joshua tagged along which didn't make anyone especially Alec and Zack too happy for their own separate reasons.  
  
Logan had found the facility. It was located by the Mississippi river, hidden within the forest. It was the perfect location.  
  
Alec was commanding officer and Zack wasn't happy with that. He was always commanding officer but for now he would have to settle as one of the others because Alec had formed this team and he and Logan and made up the plan. Logan of course was Alec's right hand man. He would be their eyes and ears. Logan was going to stay in the van and hack into the security system and warn them of danger. Alec, and Zane and Syl were team one. Zack and Krit were team two.  
  
"Ready?" Alec's voice interrupted Logan's thoughts.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be." Syl answered. They all looked nervous but ready as hell.  
  
"Good luck." OC said worriedly. She was worried for everyone. Alec because he was one of her closest and best friends and the rest of them because like Max always used to say, they were family. She hoped they would all make it out alright. She didn't want to see any of them go down.  
  
Alec gave her a nod before going of into the darkness towards the facility that would determine the outcome of their future.  
  
"They'll be alright." Logan reassured her. She hoped so. She wasn't religious but she prayed to god that Logan was right.  
  
A few minutes later there was an explosion. It had all began and dread crept into OC's heart. 


	16. chapter sixteen

A/N: HOPE YOU PPL LIKE THIS ONE.  
  
A loud explosion and then the sounds of the alarm going off woke Max up. What the hell was going on? She ran over to her door and peered through the window. She could see the guards running around. The p.a. went off. It was a code red. Max knew instantly what that meant. They were under attack. Hostile forces.  
  
"Shit!" She mumbled to herself. This wasn't happening.  
  
Plan of counter attack: Alpha-Alpha 50.  
  
All the doors slid open and every transgenic stepped out. A couple of guards were standing in the hallways, yelling orders. In her stay here, Max had found out that ever since she took down the Manticore facility in Gillette, other facilities had organized a plan in case it happened again. All the transgenics were to be let out and they would all fight to protect Manticore. No one was going to let it go down.  
  
"Soldiers, we are under attack!" The guard yelled. "Prepare to face hostile enemy forces and destroy them! We must eliminate these forces!" Max listened carefully. It was her chance to escape. She had a choice. She either went ran or stood by her fellow soldiers and fight. She followed the other X series soldiers. She had made up her mind.  
  
Alec was yelling orders. Everything was exploding. There were soldiers everywhere. No one had seen this coming. He, Syl, and Zane had to fight off each and every one of them. He hated to shoot but there were too many and he had to do what was necessary to execute this plan. They were in the mess hall by now. Team two was still standing. They were in the medical lab, destroying all of Manticore's files and creation.  
  
Max's heart raced as she searched the corridors. All she could see were her fellow soldiers. Where was the enemy? She could hear explosions in the distance. As much as she hated Manticore, she didn't want it to go down. Her son was somewhere in here. She needed to look for him. She ran as fast as she could to the medical lab. His files would be there and maybe Renfro and she could strangle the answers from the bitch.  
  
Max stopped dead in her tracks. Everything was ruined and in the middle of the chaos were Zack and Krit just finishing it off.  
  
Max's heart sunk when she saw all the broken test tubes, the documents shredded and burned. The data in the computers were ruined too.  
  
"No." She whispered. This was her last hope. Zack heard her and he and Krit looked up. They looked surprised and happy to see her.  
  
Max's blood boiled. They had ruined her chances of finding her son. Brothers or not she was going to kill them.  
  
"We need back up!" It was Krit yelling over the radio. "We found Max." His last words made everyone anxious. Alec and the rest of the team headed over to the medical bay. Max and Zack were going head to head. She looked liked she was really going to kill him. Krit was trying to fight off two X8's who had the same intentions as Max did. Soon, they were surrounded by every kind of X series Manticore had created. Two dozen soldiers against the four of them. The odds didn't look too good. Max looked the most determined to kill them.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with her?" Syl asked as she finished off the four soldiers trying to kill her and helped Zack out who seemed to be losing against Max.  
  
"Isn't it obvious that she wants to kill me?" Zack yelled. He really didn't have time for explanations. Max was strong, stronger than she had been before. She had had a lot of training over the last two years.  
  
"Zane, where's the sedative?" Krit asked still trying to fight off the rest of the soldiers who were mostly kids. "You have to give it to Max!" He ordered.  
  
"I'm a little preoccupied here!" Zane who was usually quietly yelled back. He three the two soldiers across the room and sent them flying and hitting the walls. He heard their backbones snap.  
  
Zack and Syl managed to Pin Max down who fighting the best she could. "The sedative! Give it to her, dammit!" Zack yelled. This was all part of the plan. Everyone knew that Max wasn't going to go back with them happily but no one had anticipated that she was willing to fight them to the death just to stay here.  
  
Max struggled from her brother and sister's hold. She had to escape them. She had to find her son. It was either she killed them or she escaped them. She chose the latter. Killing her siblings wasn't an option. She had intended to slow them down but then Alec, Syl and Zane showed up and she couldn't get rid of them.  
  
"Get off me!" She yelled. Zane was injecting something into her arm. It was making her dizzy and tired. No! She couldn't let them do this to her. She couldn't let them take Manticore down along with her son. She knew that he was somewhere in this facility. Max tried to keep awake but the sedative was winning over her will. She won't forget that they did this to her.  
  
She won't forgive them for killing her son. 


	17. chapter seventeen

Zane lifted the unconscious Max off the ground. They got what they came for. All the needed to do now what get out of here and torch the place.  
  
"We got her." Alec reported back to Logan. He sounded relieved.  
  
"Get out of there." Logan ordered. "The bomb up planted is going to go off soon. You have at least two minutes." He said frantically.  
  
They all heard and headed to the nearest exit. They had to fight a few dozen soldiers before they were finally safe. Just as they reached the van, Manticore exploded right behind them.  
  
OC was waiting anxiously with Logan and Joshua and her face lit up when she saw Max. She was bruised up but alive.  
  
"Thank god for that," She thought. They all came back alive. Even better. She was happy and relieved beyond belief but it wasn't over yet. They all packed into the van and Alec drove.  
  
The rest of them sat quietly, waiting for the other shoe to drop.  
  
They all headed back to Logan's penthouse. Everyone agreed on it. Asha had given her approval. Personally, Zack thought that it wasn't safe to take Max there. She could be dangerous and worse she could hurt Asha and the baby but that was unlikely. Max wouldn't hurt anyone.  
  
Asha looked shocked to see them in their conditions. Bruised up and scratched all over. Zane was limping and Max was unconscious. She and OC immediately prepared some bandages and medicine while the rest of them took Max to the other room and strapped her to the bed that they had prepared. They all looked tired as hell but relieved. At least they were all in one peace. They were alive and they had Max back. They were all thankful for that.  
  
"How long is the sedative going to keep her down?" Krit asked while Asha tended to the huge scratched on his arm. He hadn't even noticed it until OC pointed it out and Asha immediately went to clean and patch him up.  
  
"A couple of hours." Alec answered. He was seated on the couch with Zack on the opposite end. They looked tense as hell. Alec kept running his hand though his hair while Zack was just looking grim and lost in thought.  
  
OC was tending to Zane who kept wincing every time the medicine stung. It amused her. Joshua was just standing around. Syl was watching the baby who was sleeping peacefully in the other room. And Logan wasn't by his computer for the first time. He was just sitting in the back ground and like the rest of them, lost in his own thoughts.  
  
Asha just kept quiet and once in a while she would pause and look at the room where Max was sleeping.  
  
"She won't be the same." Zack broke the silence. They looked up at him as though they weren't sure he had said what he did. They all knew that. The old Max was gone. That's what they had been all thinking. No one had the courage to say it though except for Zack.  
  
"Yeah." Alec said, not sounding too happy with that. In fact, it made him angry. He wanted Max back. They had gone through so much without her and he couldn't stand the thought of her being different. He loved the old Max. He still loved her.  
  
He was lost in his thoughts again. It had been two years. Not exactly two years but close enough. He didn't really know what to think. When she first disappeared, he thought he was going to lose his mind. At first he denied caring. He denied that he was concerned that she was gone. Then it finally sunk in to him that she wasn't coming back. It scared him. He didn't know whether she ran or she was caught. He wanted to find her. He and Logan searched high and low for her but nothing. No trace of Max. Alec even tried to track down Max's sister Jace in Mexico but when he got there she had moved already. After that there seemed to be nowhere else to look. White didn't know where she was either because he was still looking for her. They all knew that Manticore was gone so they didn't suspect that. They had been so wrong.  
  
"What do we do now?" Asha asked. They seemed startled that she spoke. She hadn't said anything for hours. They almost forgot that she could speak.  
  
Logan sighed. OC shrank back to the couch with Joshua leaning on her shoulder. Syl sighed softly. Zane was waiting for someone to answer Asha and Krit was trying to sleep.  
  
"I guess we wait." Alec answered. That's what they were all going to do. Wait. Wait for Max. They had so many questions. Zack nodded and then Logan too. 


	18. chapter eighteen

Max slowly opened her eyes. Her head hurt like hell. Where the hell was she? Max tried to move her arms but she was strapped down to a rather comfortable bed.  
  
"Just great." She mumbled. She looked around. The room looked cozy. It was in painted in beige with dark wood borders. She didn't know where she was. But hell, it was better than a cage.  
  
Then her mind drifted back to what happened. Her siblings had taken down the Manticore facility she was in and gotten her out. What the hell were they thinking and how the hell did they know where she was?  
  
She heard movement and voice in the other room. There were too many of them to make out and they were talking in hushed voices.  
  
The door slowly opened and Zack and Alec stood in front of her. They looked unsure of what to do next.  
  
Max had nothing to say to them. They didn't know about he baby but she still blamed them. They took him away whether they did it intentionally or not.  
  
"Hey, Maxie." Zack said softly. He walked over to her slowly. She looked at him and then Alec angrily and then she focused on something other than them. "How are you?" He asked. Max said nothing.  
  
"Maxie?" Zack repeated his nickname for her.  
  
"Get away from me!" She hissed. She looked at him angrily. Zack looked hurt. She didn't want to look at Alec.  
  
Soon the room started to fill up and her siblings were standing around her.  
  
"How dare you!" She said angrily. "You had no right!" She looked so angry that they were taken aback by her actions.  
  
"We were trying to help you." Zane defended himself and the others. "We were trying to save you." He said. Max glared at him. She hadn't seen him since they escaped in 09. She was glared to see him but the circumstances of their meeting weren't making her feel any better.  
  
To Max, these people are the once that robbed her of getting her son back. "I hate you." She said before she closed her eyes so that she wouldn't have to look at them anymore.  
  
"She's been re-indoctrinated. She doesn't understand." Syl whispered.  
  
"They never reprogrammed me." Max whispered opening her eyes again. They all looked shock by what she had said.  
  
"Never?" Alec looked stunned. Max shook her head.  
  
"Then why are you acting the way you are?" Zack demanded. She was confusing the hell out of all of them.  
  
"You would never understand." She said harshly to her big brother. It was true. He would never understand. Zack thought children were a liability. He didn't approve when Tinga had Case and he wasn't going to approve now. He would think worse of children considering that Max had tried to kill all of them for the sake of her child.  
  
"I need to go to the bathroom." Max whispered. They seemed confused. They were trying to figure out whether this was a tactic or not. "I need to go." She pressed.  
  
"Take the restraints out." Alec ordered. Zack along with the others didn't think that was such a brilliant idea. "Syl, go with Max." He added which seemed to please them a little.  
  
Zane removed the restraints. Everyone was waiting for her to attack her brother. Instead Max slowly got up. She was still a little groggy. She swung her legs careful down and tried to stand up. "That sedative you gave me could have put a horse down." She said lightly accusing them. "Are you all going to stand there or are you going to wait until I pee my pants?" She glared. They all moved out of her way looking embarrassed.  
  
Syl followed her to the bathroom and discreetly closed the door but didn't fully shut it. Max put the water on and rested her head against the cold mirror. She looked like hell. She could see Syl look sympathetically at her.  
  
"Are you happy?" Max said bitterly.  
  
Syl looked startled by her questions. "I'm happy to have my sister back. You should be grateful. Alec-" Max snapped at her last remark. She pushed Syl through the door, breaking it in the process. She hit the wall. Max pulled her up wrapping her strong fingers around her sister's small neck.  
  
"I should be grateful?" Max looked and sounded murderous. Everyone rushed over to where Max and Syl where.  
  
"Max, let her go." Zack said cautiously.  
  
"I didn't ask you to save me." She said firmly, looking at all of them. "I didn't ask you." She seemed heart broken by it.  
  
"You don't belong in Manticore. You have to know that." OC said softly. Max looked startled to see her best friend. It had been so long ago.  
  
"Brin was there." She said softly, looking at Zack and her siblings now. "She was there and I talked to her. I have to go back." She whispered.  
  
Suddenly Asha appeared, holding the baby in her arms. "What's going on? I heard noises." She said rocking the baby softly keeping it from fussing.  
  
Max looked from Asha to the baby and her heart broke to pieces. No one overlooked her reaction. She let Syl go and backed away from all of the instinctively.  
  
"You will never understand." She whispered brokenly before she darted past them and locked herself in the nearest room. 


	19. chapter nineteen

A/N: I TRY TO UPDATE FAST FOR ALL OF YOU PPL CUZ I HATE IT TOO WHEN THE AUTHOR DOESN'T UPDATE FAST. HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS ONE.  
  
They all stood there. No one understood what Max was trying to tell them. They had all been startled when they heard the commotion and saw that Max had her hand around Syl's neck trying to kill her own sister. Then she looked genuinely sad and afraid of Asha. What the hell did she mean by they didn't understand? Understand what exactly?  
  
Alec moved to follow her but Asha stopped him. "No, let me talk to her." She said handing the baby over to Logan who didn't know what to do. Max was in no condition to talk right now. She could kill his wife in a millisecond. "I'll be fine." She reassured them.  
  
Asha knocked on the door. No one answered. She slightly opened it and peered in. Max was sitting in the corner, her legs folded to her chest and her head down so that they wouldn't see her crying.  
  
"Max?" Asha said softly. She continued to ignore her. Her sobs were quiet. "Can we talk?" She continued stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. The people on the other side looked really worried.  
  
"Get out now, Asha or I'll kill you." Max threatened. Asha knew it was an empty threat so she proceeded to sit next to Max and stay there until the other girl was ready to talk.  
  
"They're wondering why wanted to stay in Manticore so bad. You weren't re- indoctrinated so there had to be a reason." Asha started.  
  
"How old is you baby?" Max asked quietly.  
  
"He'll be two months tomorrow." Asha replied. She wondered why Max was so interested in her kid.  
  
"What's his name?" Max continued. She looked genuinely interested but Asha could also the sadness and pain with mentioning the baby.  
  
"Alexander." Asha replied with a proud but small smile. Max looked up at the other woman. She was on the brink of tears.  
  
"My baby would be seven months old now." Max confided in a broken whisper. Then Asha understood it.  
  
Max didn't want Manticore to go down because her son was there. She wanted to go back to save her baby. That was a little too late now. Asha's heart went out to Max. The poor girl. She had gone through so much. Max was right. They would never understand.  
  
She put her arm around Max and pulled her closer. She was shaking from her sobs now.  
  
"I only saw him once." Max said, gasping for air. "They wouldn't let me touch him. I begged them and they wouldn't let me touch him." She continued.  
  
Asha was crying now too. She would understand how that felt. She loved Alexander and it would kill her not to have him there and not to be able to hold him.  
  
"They took him away from me. I don't even know his name." Max was sobbing uncontrollably and Asha was trying not to fall apart as well.  
  
"I think your baby knows that you love him very much." She said between sniffles.  
  
"I promised myself that I wouldn't let my child go through what I went." Max said holding on to Asha tightly. "I promised over and over again but in the end I failed."  
  
"It's okay, Max." Asha felt terrible for saying that it was okay when in fact it wasn't. Nothing was okay. It would never be okay. The only thing that could fix this was if Max got her son back. She had already missed so much time and each moment was precious. Max was robbed of that chance.  
  
"I tried to escape. I tried so hard. I got out but they caught up with me again and then they decided that it was time to take the baby away. I didn't want them to. I fought as hard as I could. I swear, I fought so hard but they were strong and I didn't want the baby to get hurt." Max explained. She was still crying. She was pouring her heart out to this woman that she barely knew but somehow understood.  
  
"That was the last time I saw him." Max swallowed ands topped crying for a second. "I don't know how long I was unconscious but when I woke up, I was in a tank." She paused, wondering whether she should go on. "They were harvesting. They were harvesting me." Max shivered at the memory. She could still feel the pain from being connected to those tubes. "I was there for a long time. I don't really remember how long."  
  
Asha rubbed Max's back softly. She was still shaking from crying so hard but they had decreased to sobs now. "Tell me what he looked like." Asha whispered. She thought that it would help Max a little. She didn't really know what else to say. No matter what she says, what she promises Max it would never be good enough. No one would be able to make up for her loss and erase the pain and suffering that she went through.  
  
"He was so small." Max said in a soft whisper. "He was also beautiful. He had dark hair like mine. They were short but I could see that he had dark hair." Max smiled wryly. "And..and his eyes were blue. He opened his eyes when he cried and I saw they were blue. Like the sky." She added. "Whenever I look at the sky, I remember his eyes."  
  
"He sounds beautiful." Asha smiled sadly. She wondered what happened to the baby. Max didn't know and it was likely that the baby died during their ambush on Manticore.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Max." Asha whispered. Max was slowly drifting to sleep. She had been so tired. "I'm so sorry you had gone through all that." It was all she really could do. Sympathize and apologies. Nothing else would count.  
  
"Promise me you won't tell the others." Max said sleepily.  
  
Asha nodded. Max had her reasons to keep her secrets and she had entrusted Asha with them. She would respect that. "Whenever you're ready." Asha whispered stroking her hair. "Come on, Max. Let's get you to bed." Asha said helping her up. Max complied and stood up, looking beat. Her face was tear stained and her eyes bloodshot. She's been through hell and she looked it.  
  
Asha tucked Max into bed. She stood there while Max laid on the bed, her eyes closed and her breathing slow. Asha finally understood her. It had almost two years and a lot of suffering, for Max's part mostly. But Asha understood anyway and she respected Max and admired her for everything.  
  
"You had to bear the burden of your secret," Asha thought. "I'm sorry you went through that and I'm sorry they took your baby away. And I'm sorry you might never see him again." 


	20. chapter twenty

A/N: HERE YOU GO PPL. I KNOW THAT I'VE BEEN DRAGGING THE STORY. SO, ID LIKE TO THANK JT FOR TELLING ME CUZ I WOULDN'T HAVE NOTICED IT. HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS ONE.  
  
Everyone was waiting anxiously in the other room. It had been almost two hours. Asha was still in there. No one dared try to see what was going on. Everyone was worried for their own reasons.  
  
Some of them namely Logan, were afraid that Max had already killed Asha and they didn't know it.  
  
Asha suddenly appeared into the living room, her eyes full of tears. She looked so sad that it scared all of them. She said nothing, just walked over to Logan, picked her baby up and rocked him while she cried silently. Logan was begging her for answers like the rest of them.  
  
"What happened?" OC asked first. They all wanted to know.  
  
Asha continued to rock her son in her arms. It was like she didn't hear them. None of them seemed so important right now. She kept thinking of Max and what she went through. "We talked." Asha answered in the tiniest whisper. "She's sleeping now." She added, looking up at them with sad eyes.  
  
"Just talked?" Logan seemed suspicious. "Why are you crying?" He asked. Asha shrugged her shoulder and stroked the baby's wavy blonde hair. Their son had inherited her hair color.  
  
"Because I understand. I finally understand." She whispered. She just looked at them and then went back to rocking her baby who seemed content in her arms.  
  
"Understand what?" Alec persisted. He assumed that Asha was either losing her mind or Max told her something terrible.  
  
"The baby needs me." She said ignoring his question. "The baby needs its mother." She added and everyone heard her. She then retreated to the baby's room and closed it behind her.  
  
They wondered what the hell she meant. She was acting strange. They wanted to know what happened. What they talked about in there.  
  
They sat there for a few hours, more agitated and curious than before. Max suddenly appeared in the doorway.  
  
"I need to talk to Alec." She whispered that only these with enhanced hearing could hear her.  
  
Alec looked startled and scared but hopeful at the same time. At least she was willing to talk. He followed her to the other room. Max sat the down on the chair. Alec stood against the wall, anticipating what she would say. Her back was turned to him. She was facing the wall and it reminded him of the time when they argued two years ago and she told him to go away. Max sighed and turned to face him. He missed her so much that he wanted to reach and hold her. Just hold her.  
  
"I need to go back to Manticore." She said sadly but with determination.  
  
"What? No." He argued. "You're not going back there, Max. We almost died trying to get you out. Hell will have to freeze over first before I let you go back there." He said firmly.  
  
"Then it will freeze over." She rebutted. "Alec, listen to me. I need to go back there. I have to." She said softly.  
  
"Why? Why do you have to go back there?" He begged. "You don't seem to like it at all. What the hell is so important that you have to go back?" He looked so hurt. He had done all this for her. He had risked his life, the lives of their friends and her siblings just to get her back. All because he loved her.  
  
"I need to know." She replied.  
  
Being cryptic wasn't helping. "Know what?"  
  
"I need to know if Brin made it out, if Renfro survived and took him. I need to know where he is." She said looking straight at him. What the hell was she talking about? She wasn't making any sense. And who the hell was he?  
  
"I thought about it. At first, I didn't want to tell you because if he died then it wouldn't have mattered. But then I owe you. I owe you truth. I owe you that in the least." She explained. "Sit down." She said and Alec did so. She was sitting right in front of him, her hands clasped together.  
  
"Before I got captured back in Manticore, I was pregnant." Max started to tear up. She didn't want to cry just yet. She had to finish her story. "With your baby."  
  
Alec felt like someone had cut off his lungs and he couldn't breathe. Pregnant? Max was pregnant with his child.  
  
"I had the baby in Manticore. I saw him once. Once, Alec, and he was taken away from me. I never saw him again." She sobbed quietly and Alec pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect him. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. He was your baby too. I was going to tell you as soon as I got back from visiting Jace. But I never got to go back." She sobbed on his shirt.  
  
He pulled away from Max. This was hurting him too but he wasn't about to let her suffer more for it. "Don't you dare blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. Manticore took him away from you. From us." He said firmly through his tears. That's what shed been doing since she had their baby and although Alec wasn't, he knew it. Max would always blame herself. She would blame herself for failing him, and their son.  
  
"We'll go back and find out. But baby, please don't blame yourself. You didn't know." He begged her stroking her hair. Max nodded through her tears.  
  
"I'm sorry." She said as she rested her head on his chest. Alec kept reminding her it wasn't her fault. It never was. They were victims, both of them. But like Max, Alec couldn't help feel the same and blame himself for their suffering. He was after all the one that planned the attack on Manticore. If only he had known better.  
  
But he hadn't. 


	21. chapter twenty one

Alec drove the car silently. Max was right next to him in the passenger's seat, her forehead pressed against the wall of the car, the wind slightly blowing a few strands of her hair. She had been staring out the window for the last three hours. He didn't want to push her.  
  
They were driving back to the Manticore facility. They didn't know what they expected to find there. Max was determined to go. He would give her that although he didn't really know what it would do to her.  
  
Her siblings had split up a couple of days ago. Zack said he needed to check on Jace and the others and Tinga's kid in Canada. He made them promise to call them as soon as something came up. Syl and Krit went on their separate ways. Syl mentioned going to California for a week. Krit went out to track down a lead Logan has. They think that it might lead them to Renfro, assuming she survived. They would all check in, in a week. Zane decided he would stick around for a while until things slowed down and got better. OC suspected it had something to do with the food Asha makes.  
  
"I want to find him there, Alec." Max whispered. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to find there son to but it was unlikely that he would still be there. He didn't want to keep hoping for something that might be false. He didn't want to find their son dead. "He had your eyes." She added, looking at him now. "He really was beautiful." She choked a sob and Alec reached over and took her hand into his.  
  
They arrived at the facility many hours later. They hadn't stopped too many times to rest. He knew that the longer it took them to get there, the more upset and anxious Max would become and it would just make him worry even more.  
  
They stood on the hill, his arm around her waist. There was only rubble left and no traces of any bodies that had once been there. Someone had cleaned the place out.  
  
Everything had been burned down. They weren't going to find anything there. Alec was carefully watching Max. She looked emotionless. Like when he saw her again after two years of being gone. She moved away from his grasp and walked over to the rubble. She touched a piece of wall that was left standing. She didn't say anything.  
  
"Maybe this was her way of saying goodbye to their son." Alec thought. He didn't want to believe that. If Max was saying good bye then it would mean that she thought that the baby was dead. He didn't want the baby to be dead. He had never seen his own child and he knew that it would kill him too, like it was killing Max.  
  
Max let out a sharp exhale. She was gathering her thoughts, wondering where the transgenics were now. Where her son was. She prayed to god, if there was one that Renfro took the baby and made it out just in time. It would be better than her child dying. Despite Renfro being evil and a bitch without a heart, Max knew that she wouldn't let the baby die. It was too important. She remembered what Brin had told her before. The baby was perfection. Manticore's only perfection.  
  
Max looked up at the sky. It was so blue. It reminded her of Alec's and their son's eyes. A thousand thoughts flooded her mind. She was brought back to her past, to the memories that she held on of her childhood and of her brothers and sisters. Ben believed in the Blue Lady. Max didn't really believe in her but if Ben was right, Max hoped that she was looking out for all of them and keeping her baby safe.  
  
Who would have known that after more than a decade of escaping from Manticore, their past would always come back to hurt them? A part of them would always belong to Manticore.  
  
"Let's go." She said to Alec who just followed her quietly.  
  
"Where are we going?" He asked as they got into the car.  
  
"Home." Max replied. "We're going home." She said rather unhappily. "There's nothing here. He's not here."  
  
Alec didn't want to say anything. He wanted so badly to see his son but that seems hopeless now. Even Max seemed to have given up.  
  
They got back to Seattle two days later because unlike Max, Alec had to stop and get some sleep. He was tired as hell. Now that they were home, all he wanted to do was fix things. Fix everything for Max. Make up for the loss of their son.  
  
Max wasn't going to make it easy on him.  
  
She moved in with OC and Josh only because Alec wouldn't let her go on her own. Originally Max wanted to get her own apartment but he wasn't going to give her that. With a little coaxing from OC and Asha, Max finally relented.  
  
"Give her time." Logan suggested. They knew that wasn't really going to help Max right now. She needed more than that and if that was the only option, Max would need a lot of time. She was acting strange but better than before. She got her job back at Jam Pony. How she talked Normal into letting her work again was a mystery to anyone. She didn't talk like she did before. Usually she'd just sit and think. Other times she would spend all night riding her Ninja which was a replica of the old one that she lost or sitting on top of the space needle, thinking.  
  
No one liked how upset Max was but they couldn't help it. She stayed away from Logan and Asha especially because of the baby. She didn't want to hear it or see it or smell it. It reminded her too much of the son that she lost. Alec knew that she was having nightmares when she had to sleep. OC told him. Maybe that's why Max avoided sleep so much.  
  
"Max, you have to try to get better." Alec said, confronting her about her behavior one day. He didn't want to push her. He just wanted to best for her. They all did.  
  
"I am better." She replied, completely in denial.  
  
"No, you're not. Look at you. You're thinner than a stick. You ignore everyone. All you do is work all day and run from us at night." Alec argued.  
  
"Don't tell me what I am and am not." She glared at him angrily.  
  
"You're not trying to get better. I'm just trying to help you. We all are." He insisted. Max sighed sharply.  
  
"Leave me alone, Alec." She ordered.  
  
She was starting to piss him off. He loved her but she was being selfish. "That's right. Push everyone away. Like you always do." He said quietly.  
  
"Maybe I just want to be alone!" Max exclaimed angrily.  
  
"You've been alone for two years! I thought maybe you'd be happy to have your family back! Have the people that love you around!" Alec said getting incredibly angry and hurt. He didn't want to fight with her but she was definitely testing his patience.  
  
"I lost my son Alec. What the hell do you expect me to do! Jump for joy? Move on like it didn't matter?" She yelled.  
  
"He was my son too!" Alec rebutted. "I may never have seen him, or heard him but he was my son too. I loved him, just as much as you did." He was crying now. It was true. He didn't go through what Max did but he was hurt just the same. They had lost their son and Max was being selfish by thinking that she was the only one affected. Alec wiped the tears from his face.  
  
"We don't know if he is alive or dead but we can't keep torturing ourselves. We have to fix things. We have to do something with our lives. For the mean time, we have to make the most of what we have." Alec said.  
  
Max looked at him. She understood what he meant. She couldn't sit and be unhappy forever. In a way she was luckier than Alec. She had almost seven months (since Manticore forced her to go into labor two months early) with their baby. She knew what he looked like. Alec never had this. He knew about it when it was too late. She really was being unfair to him.  
  
Without a word Max stepped forward and hugged Alec. He was right. He was very right. She would make it up to him because whatever she went through, she still loved him. Despite the hurt and unhappiness and stolen years, she loved him. Nothing would change that. 


	22. chapter twenty two

A/N: I KNOW THAT YOU PPL ARE GETTING IMPATIENT BECAUSE I WONT LET MAX AND ALEC FIND THEIR SON JUST YET. WELL, THEY WONT FIND HIM IN THIS CHAPTER EITHER. THIS IS A LONG ONE BUT THERE IS A REASON FOR THIS. JUST BE PATIENT PLEASE.  
  
AND I WOULD LIKE SOME SUGGESTIONS ON HOW THE BABY IS FOUND.  
  
  
  
Alec walked into Logan's penthouse quietly. "Over here." Logan said like he usually does when Alec goes over there.  
  
  
  
"What's up?" Alec asked.  
  
  
  
Logan didn't look too happy. "Krit found Renfro. I was right about the lead." He said. "We found out that Renfro was part of the breeding cult that White belongs in. That's why she didn't die. But Renfro's loyalties are to Manticore." Logan sighed, pushing his glasses to his face.  
  
  
  
"What does this mean?" Alec asked. He didn't want to get his hopes up. From the way Logan was speaking, there was more to the news and it wasn't going to be good.  
  
  
  
"White and Renfro have been competing on getting Max. Renfro won and with the baby, she had the upper hand. Anyway, Krit found her in Michigan. We think that she was trying to get to Canada. We were right. She did take the baby." Logan explained.  
  
  
  
"Did Krit find my son?" Alec asked. He was holding his breath.  
  
  
  
Logan shook his head. "No. Someone got to Renfro first, killed her for good this time and took the baby. We suspect that it's White." He replied. "I'm sorry."  
  
  
  
Alec sighed heavily. "Great. He mumbled. "Just great." Everything was so frustrating.  
  
Alec left Logan's apartment and went straight to the space needle. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His son was alive but nowhere to be found. If White got him, he could be experimented on right now. His son might be tortured right now and there is nothing he can do.  
  
"I would rather have you dead than suffering," Alec thought sadly.  
  
He wondered if he should tell Max. He wondered what it would do to her. She was getting so good lately and news like this would just send her spiraling back to depression. It's been two months since she got out and Alec wasn't really up to going through all that pain again.  
  
Alec walked back to his apartment, still lost in thought. He had decided not to tell Max. It was for the best. He would call Logan later and tell him to do the same. He unlocked his door but before he could step inside, Alec felt the cold metal of a gun being pressed on the back of his neck.  
  
"Shit!" He mumbled to himself.  
  
His captor pushed him inside without a word. He couldn't look back and see.  
  
"Don't try anything funny because I promise you, you'll regret it." The woman said. "Turn around."  
  
Alec turned around, his hands still in the air. He came face to face with the woman. She was Asian, incredibly beautiful. He assumed she was at least in her early twenties. "Who are you?" He demanded. Alec wasn't pleased on being taken hostage.  
  
"State your designation." She ordered.  
  
Alec frowned. "Great, another Manticore soldier." He mumbled.  
  
"State your designation!" She repeated harshly.  
  
"X5-494." Alec said. The woman seemed to look relieved. This confused him.  
  
"Ben's twin." She whispered. The woman lowered the gun. "My designation is X5-"  
  
Alec cut her off before she could continue. "Look, lady, are you here to maim me and then kill me or are you here to reminisce about Manticore and talk about designations? If you're here for a little trip down our demented memory lane, then I suggest you better reschedule or find someone else to bother because I'm not really up for any of those. I have better things to do so why don't you just get on with whatever it is you want because you are wasting my time." Alec said impatiently.  
  
"I need to track down the rogue X5 452 also known as Max Guevera." She said. Alec looked startled. What the hell does she want with Max? Whatever it was Alec wasn't going to help. She could be hunting Max down and Alec could lead her right to her.  
  
"What do you want with Max?" He demanded.  
  
"My name is Brin. I'm her sister. I need to find her. It's important." Brin explained. "Tell me where she is." Brin demanded. She was taking her chances by telling a complete stranger. She had no idea who he was. All she knew that this man looked like her dead brother Ben. Maybe she could trust him considering that he was whether he knew it or not, family.  
  
Alec scoffed. Who the hell did she think she was ordering him around? She probably didn't know him. She probably just saw his face and assumed that she could trust him because he looked like her brother Ben.  
  
"I'm not helping you." He said. Honestly, Alec hadn't decided whether he would help her or not. She was after all Max's sister and Max would probably want to see her in the first place.  
  
"Please, I need to find Max. It's important. I have something that belongs to her." Brin begged. She wasn't used to begging. It was either they gave her what she wanted or she got it by force. Alec seemed intrigued by her last comment.  
  
"Just tell me where Max is and I'll leave you alone." Brin said. Alec shook his head. He didn't know her and therefore didn't trust her. She would have to prove to him that she wasn't a traitor. She could just be another X5 on a solo mission. Brin seemed angry with his refusal. "Fine!" She said and punched him out before she walked out of his apartment.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?" OC asked when Alec walked into the house with a black eye. Brin had punched him good and hard.  
  
"Nothing." He mumbled. "Can I have some ice please?" Alec asked. Max strolled in and looked at him curiously. "Don't ask." He said and she didn't.  
  
Alec sat on the couch with a piece of frozen meat pressed against his face. He was still contemplating on whether he should tell Max or not. He wasn't going to. He really was tired of asking questions and trying to figure things out.  
  
He would just leave it at that. 


	23. chapter twenty three

A/N: THIS IS A LONG ONE. SORRY FOR STALLING.  
  
Alec yawned sleepily. It was ten in the morning and he was still tired as hell. He had slept over at Joshua's because he wasn't feeling up to driving home last night. Max seemed to have no problem with it but she left and rode all night. He didn't know whether that was a bad sign or a good one. He assumed that she was probably at work by now. Cindy had gone to Crash last night and didn't come home. Alec knew what that meant.  
  
"I guess that leaves me with Josh." She whispered as he got into the shower.  
  
"Hey, Josh, buddy, you want any breakfast?" Alec asked as he stepped out of the bathroom. He knew that Josh was somewhere in here because he could hear him talking. More like making funny noises.  
  
Alec followed the sound. A thousand things ran through his mind. Josh was sick. Someone hurt him. Instead, what he found left Alec stunned beyond belief.  
  
Josh was holding a baby and he was bouncing it on his lap. "Look, Alec, a very little fella." He said referring to the giggling baby. Alec didn't know what to say. His jaw just dropped and all he could do was stare. "Someone left him. I think they wanted us to keep him." Joshua continued innocently.  
  
"Josh, whose baby is that?" Alec managed to ask. Joshua shrugged and continued to pay attention to the baby.  
  
"I don't know. There's no name. Can we keep him?" Joshua asked. Alec walked over to them but kept his distance. The baby raised his arms and looked up to Alec. "He wants you." Joshua said.  
  
Alec looked unsure of what to do next. His mind was elsewhere. He had a million thoughts being processed. What if? No, he couldn't. Alec held the baby gently in his arms. It felt right. It felt perfect. He assumed the boy was at least a year old.  
  
He looked down at the baby who seemed to enjoy himself in Alec's arms. He had blue eyes. Blue eyes. Alec remembered what Max had told him. Their son had blue eyes. Blue like the sky. Alec sighed heavily. What if this was his son?  
  
"Who else knows about this baby Josh, buddy?" He asked.  
  
"Only us two." Joshua replied. Alec nodded, pleased.  
  
"We have to keep him a secret okay, buddy? We can't let anyone know. Especially Max." He added grimly. Joshua didn't seem to understand why he would want to keep the baby a secret but he agreed anyway.  
  
Alec didn't want to tell Max. At least not just yet. If this boy was their son, he'd have to be perfectly sure first. He didn't want to put Max through so much doubt and pain. They could be wrong. Max would be heartbroken all over again.  
  
Alec phone Logan and walked over to the penthouse as fast as he could with the baby in his arms. He also told him to ask for Doctor Carr. It was an emergency.  
  
"Is that a baby?" Logan asked stunned. Alec nodded. He wasn't much in the talking mood. "Your baby?" He was hesitant on asking Alec the last part.  
  
"I don't know. Someone left him at our doorstep. Joshua found him. I'm trying to figure it all out." Alec replied hastily. "Max doesn't know." He added.  
  
Logan understood. They let Dr. Carr do his job. "I'll be back with the results either this afternoon or tomorrow." He said. He had taken a small amount of blood from the baby and from Alec. They would soon see if this baby belonged to them.  
  
"Where the hell am I going to keep him? Max can't know and she might show up at my apartment." Alec said agitatedly. He was holding the baby in his arms. The kid hadn't cried when Doctor Carr took some blood which impressed Alec and made him a little sick. He wasn't too fond of needles or hospitals.  
  
"He can stay here." Logan said.  
  
"I don't think Asha would like that. She has to take care of the other baby too you know." Alec said.  
  
"Then stay here with us. You can take care of him. It's just for the night. He can sleep in the room with Lex and you can have the spare room." Logan suggested. Alec didn't like intruding but it was best they could do.  
  
Max tapped her foot impatiently. Alec was hiding something from her. He didn't come home last night and when she went over to his apartment to talk, he wasn't there either. A neighbor said that she had seen a pretty girl leave the apartment.  
  
"Where the hell were you?" Max asked the minute Alec walked into the house. He wouldn't look at her. He was preoccupied with something. She wanted to now what.  
  
"I went to Crash." He lied. Max knew instantly that he was lying. Josh was avoiding her too. People were being secretive and it was making her paranoid.  
  
"Crash, my ass. If I find out that you're lying to me, I'm going to beat you to a pulp." She threatened. She was pissed as hell.  
  
Alec seemed to enjoy her bad mood which made her even angrier. He liked what he saw. She was slowly becoming her old self. "What the hell is so funny?" She demanded; her hands in her hips.  
  
"You're beautiful when you're mad." He smiled. Max looked surprised. She hadn't expected him to say that. Alec walked over to her and kissed her softly. He had wanted to do that ever since he got her back. He had waited for so long and he didn't want to wait anymore. He smiled at her when he pulled away.  
  
"Don't think you're still not in trouble because I kissed you back." She said firmly but he could see that she was getting into a better mood. Max whirled around and walked out. "I'm going to work." She said.  
  
Alec said nothing to stop her. "Just be back soon." He whispered. His cell phone rang. It was Logan. He wanted Alec over there emmediately.  
  
Alec couldn't believe it. The baby was his son. Doctor Carr had rechecked everything. He did the test twice and it came out the same. It was a match.  
  
"Congratulations." Asha said with happy tears.  
  
"Thanks." Alec said. He was genuinely happy. He couldn't believe it. In his arms was his son who seemed to know who he was. The boy was happily sleeping, his small head rested on Alec's chest. His heart swelled with pride. He couldn't wait to tell Max. 


	24. chapter twenty four

A/N: THANX FOR ALL THE PPL WHO READ AND REVIEWED AND CRITICIZED. I DON'T WANT TO MAKE IT TOO SAPPY. HOPE I DON'T DISAPPOINT ANYONE.  
  
Max walked in the house and immediately knew that something was up. OC was pacing back and forth and Joshua was wringing his hands nervously.  
  
"What's going on?" Max asked and OC jumped startled.  
  
"We have to go, boo," She said hastily. "Alec is waiting for us." OC said grabbing her and walking out the door with Joshua in tow, humming nervously but happily.  
  
"I'm not getting in the car unless you tell me what the hell is going on." Max declared defiantly. OC looked like she was running out of patience.  
  
"No, you are getting in the car. Alec needs us." She insisted pushing Max inside.  
  
"I can get there faster on my Ninja." Max said, getting a little nervous like the rest of them.  
  
"No, we're taking the car." OC said. Joshua was already in the back, looking nervous as well. "I'm in no condition to drive. I'm too nervous." She said.  
  
Max relented and drove the car. She wanted to know what the hell was up but OC wouldn't say anything. She was just tapping nervously which was now beginning to irritate Max. She could also see that Joshua was grinning wider the more they got nearer to Alec's apartment. OC practically leapt out of the car before it fully stopped.  
  
"Hurry!" She kept insisting. They hadn't taken the elevator because OC thought that it was too slow. Instead they took the stairs and she practically tried to skip three steps just to get to Alec's floor faster. "Why the hell does he pick a room so far up?" She mumbled. They finally reached Alec's door and OC just pushed open the door and shoved Max inside. "Go find Alec." She ordered. She and Joshua were just standing by the doorway, looking nervous.  
  
Max frowned at them. This was yet the strangest day of her life. She did what OC told her and went to look for Alec. As she neared the rooms, she could hear a faint humming and music in the background. Alec was humming?  
  
Max pushed open the door and froze. In front of her was Alec, holding a sleeping baby in his arms. Behind him was a crib. This was a nursery. It was painted blue with Whinnie the Pooh wallpaper borders all over. There was a changing table and a dresser. On the far corner was a rocking chair and some toys that hadn't been opened yet. There were boxes of presents too. Alec had pulled a lot of strings to get all these.  
  
"Hey, Maxie." He whispered, not wanting to wake the baby.  
  
Max's eyes started to tear up. "Who is he?" She choked. A million thoughts crossed her mind. What was happening? Why was Alec doing this?  
  
"Don't you know?" Alec asked. He faced her fully so that she could see the baby. He was so beautiful. His dark hair was starting to wave up.  
  
She looked surprised and unsure. "Are you sure? Alec?" She asked. Alec nodded.  
  
"Doctor Carr checked for us." He answered.  
  
"Oh, god." She said bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. She started to cry softly. Alec was holding her baby. Their baby. He was alive and she had almost given up. "He's so beautiful." She whispered touching the baby's hair. That's all Max wanted to do. Touch him. She would have given everything up for this moment. She would have given herself back to Manticore again just to hold her baby.  
  
"You want to hold him?" Alec asked and Max nodded softly. The baby stirred a little when Alec handed him over to her. "See, he knows you." He whispered.  
  
Max couldn't say anything. She was just crying. Crying because they had taken so much from her and Alec and their son. Because she had lost the first moments of his life with him.  
  
"How did you find you find him?" She asked. She wanted to know everything.  
  
"Actually, he found us." He replied. He knew more than he was saying but Alec promised himself that he would tell her everything. He suspected that it was Brin that left him there. He'd find her and thank her later. And maybe apologize.  
  
Max looked up at Alec. He was so happy just as she was. They really couldn't ask for more. They had gone through so much. They had been put through the greatest test and they had survived it. Manticore had stolen a piece of their lives from them. It had taken away their childhood, the people that they cared about and it had tried to destroy them as well. But Max and Alec would always fight back. They had to.  
  
They would always fight back because they loved each other and because they had one more person in the family, their son. They would protect him, whatever it took. They would love him and keep him safe.  
  
Like Tinga, Max would give herself up to keep her son safe. Like Zack, Alec would give up being normal to protect his family.  
  
Manticore or not they were made strong.  
  
Max smiled. She was happy. Truly happy. "I love you, Alec." She said when he wrapped his arms around her, their son in between. It was the first time she had said it to him.  
  
"I love you too, Max." He replied, kissing her on the forehead. But they already knew that. They had and would always love each other.  
  
Max and Alec weren't going to make promises. They knew that this wasn't happily ever after. That was a dream. They would try to have that but their future was uncertain. They would fight for their lives but they would be a family. They would love each other. They would have their friends. They would just hold on to each moment because that's what life was really made of. Moments. Each minute was precious. Max and Alec didn't know what they had in the future.  
  
For now all they really had were mixed blessings. They will always have that.  
  
And of course, each other.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
THE END???  
  
OK, SOME PPL AREN'T HAPPY WITH THIS SO TELL ME IF U GUYS WANT A SEQUEL OR ANOTHER CHAPTER. I'LL WRITE IT TOMORROW IF I HAVE TO BUT GIVE ME SOME IDEAS!! DON'T JUST SAY THAT YOU WANT MORE. 


	25. author's note-for the sequel

A/N: The sequel is up and it's called No Greater Love. The baby's name is Ben. Anyway, thanks for reading. And for all the reviews. Thanks for all the input and criticism. It helped a lot. Hope you like No Greater Love. Thanks again. 


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